In Belarus, a draft of amendments and additions to the Constitution of the country was published for public discussion.

The document was published on the national legal Internet portal of Belarus.

The project clarifies the powers of the president of the country, the rights and obligations of citizens, and also identifies the priorities for the development of the republic.

So, if the document is adopted, a Belarusian citizen at least 40 years old (previously 35), who before the elections has permanently resided in Belarus for at least 20 years (previously 10), will be able to become president.

The President is elected for a five-year term by direct universal suffrage and cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. 

The head of state will not be able to appoint and dismiss members of the CEC, chairmen of higher courts, members of the Constitutional Court.

He also will not be able to dismiss the Prosecutor General, the head of the State Control Committee and members of the National Bank, and the President will be able to appoint them only with the prior consent of the Council of the Republic.

The grounds for the introduction of a state of emergency by the head of state will also change.

"The President of the Republic of Belarus in the event ... of attempts to forcibly change the constitutional order, seizure or appropriation of state power, armed rebellion, mass and other riots ... introduces a state of emergency on the territory of the Republic of Belarus or in some of its localities," the document says.

At the same time, the draft of the new Constitution excludes the prosecution of the ex-president for actions committed by him within the framework of the exercise of the powers of the head of state.

It is noted that the head of state has immunity, and the law of the republic protects his dignity.

These provisions also apply to a president who has terminated his term of office due to the expiration of his term of office or "early in the event of his resignation or persistent inability for health reasons to fulfill the duties of the president."

If the head of state dies as a result of a terrorist attack or military aggression, a state of emergency is declared, and the main decisions are made by the Security Council.

The president who has ceased to exercise his powers will be able to become a lifelong member of the country's Council.

The document introduces the All-Belarusian People's Assembly as the highest representative body of democracy, it is given the right to legislative initiative.

The head of state may be removed from office by the All-Belarusian People's Assembly in the event of a systematic or gross violation of the Constitution or committing high treason or other grave crime.

Also, according to the project, military aggression from its territory against other states is excluded.

In addition, it is prohibited to finance the organization of elections by foreign citizens and organizations.

The draft of the new Constitution retains two state languages ​​in the country - Belarusian and Russian.

The draft also states that the term of office of the Belarusian parliament may be increased to five years. 

“A decision to amend and supplement the Constitution through a referendum is considered adopted if more than half of the citizens who took part in the voting voted for it.

It is considered that a referendum took place if more than half of the citizens included in the voting lists took part in it, ”the document says.

Political analyst Ivan Mezyukho, in an interview with RT, recalled that President Alexander Lukashenko had talked a lot about changes to the basic law before.

He also expressed the opinion that it was the unauthorized protests in Minsk and other cities of the republic that prompted the country's authorities to make changes in the supreme legal act.

“The proposed changes, in my opinion, are largely done in order to ensure safe transit of power in Belarus in the future.

This is important in light of the fact that the West tried to influence the internal political situation in the country and generally deprive the republic of independence and sovereignty.

This did not happen only thanks to the support of the Russian Federation for the legitimate government in the Belarusian state, ”he said.

At the same time, Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at the IMEMO RAS, in a conversation with RT, noted that the changes proposed by the document are found in the international practice of most countries.

“In particular, the requirement to be born on the territory of Belarus is a reference to the American constitution.

The terms of a permanent residence in the territory, in my opinion, are stipulated in the German constitution.

I would interpret this in such a way that the experts who worked on the proposals conscientiously studied the experience of other countries.

First of all, what has to do with those countries from which criticism of Belarus sounds, ”the expert noted.

At the same time, he also drew attention to the fact that the Belarusian leader had previously promised to submit amendments to the constitution for a nationwide discussion.

“Therefore, those people who criticized Lukashenka are now deprived of any reason to criticize him.

Firstly, the constitution itself provides for additions, and secondly, promises are kept in time.

It seems to me that these are positive changes that should reconcile those Belarusian citizens who are satisfied with life in Belarus and those who would like some kind of change, ”he concluded.

In early November, Lukashenko announced that a referendum on the adoption of amendments to the Constitution would be held in February 2022.

In April 2019, in a message to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly, Lukashenko said that he would not like to leave the Constitution in its current form to his successor.

He also noted that the amendment of the Basic Law of the country should meet the interests of Belarus and its citizens at the present stage.

In early November, the Belarusian leader got acquainted with the revised draft of the Constitution of the republic.

Later, he stated that the work on the preparation of amendments to the basic law of the state had entered the home stretch.

In early December, Lukashenko announced the need to move away from concentration of power in one hands in Belarus.